Difficult Carrera Cup weekend at home turf

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The fifth weekend of the Porsche Carrera Cup Germany was a true home run for the squad of Black Falcon. The two championship runs nine and ten at the Nurburgring were dominated by the typical Eifel weather and meant a lot of racing action on the wet track. Initially, the experienced Black Falcon drivers dealt well with the weather conditions and finished fourth (Christian Engelhart, #5) and 11th (Gabriele Piana, #4) in the overall ranking as well as fourth in the amateur ranking (Carlos Rivas, #6) after saturday's race. During the second race on Sunday afternoon however, the track had become completely dry. In a hectic race, Gabriele Pana (IT) achieved the best result for Black Falcon with a seventh place while Christian Engelhart (GER) was touched and turned and dropped from position four to ninth overall. Carlos Rivas (LU) also turned the car while leading the race and was forced to do an unplanned pit stop causing him to cross the finish line on position eight of the amateur ranking.

Start number 4 – Gabriele Piana – RN Vision Team Black Falcon
The start of the free practice was marked by a premiere: up until then, Gabriele Piana had never driven on a wet track in a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup before. The 31-year old passed with flying colours and became seventh fastest. In qualifying on saturday on a dried track  Piana gained the eleventh starting place for the first race and the eigth starting place for the second race on Sunday. The ninth run of the Porsche Carrera Cup 2017 on saturday night was then held on an entirely wet track. Piana battled his way forward to rank eight but dropped down to rank 11 as a result of a driving mistake, consequently finishing as 11th. During the sunday race, Piana managed to gain ground and fought his way up to seventh overall - the best result for any Black Falcon driver during the weekend.

Start number 5 – Christian Engelhart – Black Falcon
The Nurburgring weekend started with a solid sixth place in free practice Christian Engelhart who struggled with difficult track conditions. The qualifying on a drying track were better suited for the experienced Carrera-Cup driver. He managed to gain starting place 3 for both races. During the ninth championship run on saturday evening Engelhart fought some tough battles with the leading group from the very beginning. He ended as fourth overall after the first race in rain of the entire season. The second race on sunday morning started off with a shock moment: as he braked into the first corner, Engelhart slid into the rear end of Nick Yelloly's car and damaged  the bumper of his 911. But apart from a visual damage, there were no technical consequences for the performance. While fighting for the fourth position, the 30-year old was turned by a rival shortly before the end of the race and dropped down to position ten. He managed to win back one position during the two remaining laps and finished as nith overall.

Start number 6 – Carlos Rivas – Black Falcon
Wet conditions on friday and saturday were a welcome challenge for Carlos Rivas. The Luxembourgian has a lot of experience in the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, but wet races are rarely part of the season's programme. Nonetheless, Rivas secured the third place for the first race in a wet qualifying session and position two for the second race. The wet race on saturday evening saw Rivas deliver a flawless performance and finish as fourth overall in the amateur ranking. Sunday morning in the dry was even better: during the start, Rivas took the lead and managed to break away from his pursuers. But a turner and a subsequent pit stop, which became necessary due to a puncture on his tyre, pushed him back to position eight in the amateur ranking and cost him valuable points.

Quotes after the race

Eve Wallenwein – Team manager Black Falcon
„We were highly motivated and started our home run having had a very good day of testing. The typical Eifel weather with mixed track conditions didn't make our lives much easier, but we are still very happy with our performance. As a new team in the Carrera Cup series, we were already able to compete with established teams from the very beginning, even if we had to find a good set up for the wet. Now we concentrate on the next race which will take place in only one week. “

Wolfgang Drabiniok – Team spokesperson RN Vision Team Black Falcon
„For Gabriele it was the first time driving in the wet with a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. These cars have no traction control and no ABS and it is not easy to control them when you face aquaplaning. It is a challenge he met excellently. “

Gabriele Piana – driver start number 4
„In qualifying I was a little unlucky and only had one free lap, therefore I had to start from rank 11 in the first race. During the race I used every second to gain valuable experience on a wet track and made sure I wasn't damaging the car. During the second race I lost a lot of time in the first corner because another car blocked me at the very last moment.  But overall, I am happy with the weekend.

Christian Engelhart – driver start number 5
„The weekend started pretty well with rank three and we have gained a lot of useful experience driving in the rain. I was quite happy with position four in the first race, even if a podium was within reach. On Sunday, I was very unlucky because Yelloly braked surprisingly early and I was turned shortly before the race ended. I won't take part in the races at Sachsenring, but I will definitely try another attach at the season finale in Hockenheim.“

Carlos Rivas – driver start number 6
„The entire saturday was a learning day for me. I have very little experience on a wet track, so I am quite happy with the fourth position. Sunday worked well for me and I was able to take the lead, but unfortunately, I turned on a wet patch of gras in the Mercedes-Arena and got a puncture."